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Home » Blogs » Trish Bendix's blog » The Sundance Queer Lounge will be open for business

The Sundance Queer Lounge will be open for business

by
Trish Bendix

Tomorrow begins this year's Sundance Film Festival, and several lesbian filmmakers will be in Park City, Utah, to represent their films. The Absolut Queer Lounge will play host to the festival's gay-themed films as well as films made by LGBT directors and producers.

Rachel Dratch at last year's Queer Lounge

Sundance is where many films hope to find distribution deals and garner buzz for the next year when they are likely to make it to theaters (or at least to DVD) on a national scale. It's where movies like Brokeback Mountain and Boys Don't Cry secured deals so they would eventually become widely-watched Oscar winning films.

Here are this year's top queer films to keep an eye out for in 2009:

Dare

Starring Sandra Bernhard, Ana Gasteyer and Emmy Rossum, Dare is the story of three high schoolers who become involved with one another in a twisted love triangle. (Bernhard does not play one of the teenagers.)

Motherhood

The film itself is not gay-themed (it follows Uma Thurman as a mother trying to throw her daughter a birthday party), but has out producer Christine Vachon at the helm. She's usually got great taste, so I'll trust her on this one.

Push

With a cast including Paula Patton, Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey and Sherri Shepherd, it sounds like an eccentric comedy. However, the description (which says the movie follows a depressed, overweight, sexually abused teen who turns to a lesbian teacher to help her turn her life around), leads me to believe it's a little more serious — at least more serious than Glitter.

Spring Breakdown

This film stars Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, Rachel Dratch, Amber Tamblyn and Jane Lynch. Do you really need to know more?

Also part of this year's Queer Lounge is the Jenni Olson short 575 Casto St. (which you can watch below) and Coley Sohn's 10-minute dark comedy Boutonniere about a teenage girl attending her prom, despite her mother's attempts to take over the experience for herself.

Do any of these films sound like something you'd pay $10 for, if not a plane ticket down to Sundance itself?

  • Trish Bendix's blog
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    • Submitted by
    Trish Bendix
    on January 14, 2009 - 1:30pm.
    TAGS :: 
    LilyJadeRose's picture

    i highly suggest the book!

    Submitted by
    LilyJadeRose (684 posts)
    on January 14, 2009 - 2:44pm.

    they made Push into a movie?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  i just read that book!  it's by lesbian author Sapphire.  in fact, i read it less than 2 days.  it's so good and is really powerful.  it really put some things into perspective to me.  when i got done reading i remember thinking that it would make a really good movie.

    it's set in the late 80s and early 90s.  it deals with alot of sexual abuse.  not only is the teacher that Precious, the main character, comes to love as a mentor a lesbian but so is one of her fellow classmates that she also bonds tightly with in the GED program.  this book is good and i sincerely hope they didn't fuck up the story when they made it into a film.  (mo'nique isn't exactly what i would call a "serious" actress...or a good one for that matter) 

    "I don't mind making jokes, but I don't want to look like one." ....... "I've been on a calendar, but never on time." ~Marilyn Monroe~

    Jenn's picture

    Emmy Rossum!

    Submitted by
    Jenn (86 posts)
    on January 14, 2009 - 3:23pm.

    (I'm pretty sure it's Emmy, not Emily.) ;)

    It's good to see her doing other stuff. Will any of these be out on DVD? Ever?

    MissZabone's picture

    Spring Breakdown

    Submitted by
    MissZabone (36 posts)
    on January 14, 2009 - 5:18pm.
    I still cannot believe Spring Breakdown is going straight to DVD. There are countless movies out there where men get to "go back in the day" and celebrate their adolescence! Yet when women want to have a little 30-something "back in the day" fun in a movie, it's not even given a chance to grace theatres.  Eff that! Look at how well Romy and Michelle did and that movie's not even that great. I think whoever made this decision should be fired. When are movie executives going to acknowledge that there is a huge market for movies showing smart funny women? Grrr. And if those women are having a little bit of unapologetic, unabashed fun, well that's even better.
    Melissa Hsu's picture

    "(Bernhard does not play

    Submitted by
    Melissa Hsu (not verified)
    on January 14, 2009 - 6:32pm.

    "(Bernhard does not play one of the teenagers.)"

    Ohh Trish Bendix... you funny thang!!! :D

    One of my ultimate goals in life is to attend the Sundance film fest at least ONCE!

    Oh and the lineup looks great this year! Especially the one with Emmy Rossum..

    alex's picture

    spring breakdown

    Submitted by
    alex (471 posts)
    on January 14, 2009 - 7:57pm.

    - i cant believe it's not getting wide distribution! did the world not get the memo that parker posey and amy poehler are, um, hilarious??

    ---------
    http://rightmindleftcoast.wordpress.com

    speaking of hilarious, the funniest thing you will read all year: http://surlylump.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/going-down-in-a-gay-blaze-of-glory/

    Shan's picture

    Sundancing

    Submitted by
    Shan (25 posts)
    on January 14, 2009 - 9:13pm.

    Hey Trish,

    Thanks, as always, for your excellent article.  Just a note.  Sadly, waitlist tickets at Sundance have gone up to $15, but that just encourages purchasing advanced tickets which are the same price.  It looks like an good line-up this year.  My girlfriend and I will be going...and the queer lounge is definitely worth a visit!  Anyone interested in the full line up can check it out here

    http://festival.sundance.org/2009/

    Or the queer lounge does a nice job of listing all films with gay content or by gay filmmakers here

    http://www.queerlounge.org/

     

    film.vixen's picture

    Spring Break...

    Submitted by
    film.vixen (52 posts)
    on January 14, 2009 - 9:15pm.

    looks great!!! And straight to DVD, wtf. The production company would make so much money off of star power alone. We have had a gazillion Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon movies (even Andy Samberg had one). Tina Fey and Amy Poehler just had a minor hit with "Baby Mama". Come on...

     

    candice's picture

    Push

    Submitted by
    candice (21 posts)
    on January 15, 2009 - 10:24am.

    I saw this movie as an advanced screening by the filmmaker last year.  It was very moving and incredible.

     

    LilyJadeRose's picture

    i was damn near tears when

    Submitted by
    LilyJadeRose (684 posts)
    on January 15, 2009 - 2:58pm.

    i was damn near tears when i was finished reading the novel.  the book was so good so i just have high hopes for the film 

    "I don't mind making jokes, but I don't want to look like one." ....... "I've been on a calendar, but never on time." ~Marilyn Monroe~

    7Up's picture

    Maybe not in Utah, but

    Submitted by
    7Up (639 posts)
    on January 15, 2009 - 10:28am.

    I want to see Push and Spring Breakdown!

     

    (Parker Posey is Sooooooooooo one of my favorite actors ever!!!! Yippie!!!) 

    enigma's picture

    sundance and skiing

    Submitted by
    enigma (24 posts)
    on January 15, 2009 - 6:36pm.

    are really the only good things about living in salt lake

     

    All right, then, I'll go to hell. ~mark twain

    JenniOlsonSF's picture

    Plus Panels & Parties

    Submitted by
    JenniOlsonSF (6 posts)
    on January 15, 2009 - 8:43pm.

    The Queer Lounge also has tons of great panels during the day and fun parties at night. Got to QueerLounge.org for the full schedule. It is also just the best place to go hang out and have a little down time in between films. Also do not miss the Outfest Queer Brunch on the first Sunday from 11-2 at the Grub Steak Restaurant (2200 Sidewinder at Prospector Square) -- it is a total homo mob scene.

    Thanks for the plug of my short film, Trish!

    J 

    Surely you have time to read My Butch Blog!

    Melanie's picture

    Helen

    Submitted by
    Melanie (37 posts)
    on January 18, 2009 - 4:42pm.

    I just saw Helen. It's not overtly gay, but the massive amounts of subtext border on actual textiness. And Lauren Lee Smith plays a supporting role!

    Aya's picture

    I heard that the teenagers

    Submitted by
    Aya (796 posts)
    on January 20, 2009 - 1:54am.
    I heard that the teenagers in Dare are 2 boys and 1 girl.  So Emmy Rossum really isn't going to be getting close to any girls.

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